Hardware Podcasts

S5E10 Derek Pietz | Industrial Automation, Losing A Million Dollars, & Successful Startups

Being an Engineer · 8 Mar 2024 · 39m · Episode 10

What this episode covers

Derek Pietz, Director of Automation Equipment and Test Engineering at Intuitive, discusses his journey co-founding the automation startup LTF and his current work on robotic surgery systems like the Da Vinci Surgical System and the Ion platform. He recounts a critical week at LTF where the company faced a $1 million penalty from a rejected project while nearly bankrupt, ultimately securing investment from a Chinese integrator after pivoting to food service automation. Pietz also shares lessons on engineering management, emphasizing the importance of clear requirements, team morale, and the emerging role of AI in vision-guided robotics.

Most relevant to

companies scaling up and large enterprises

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Intuitive, LTF, Covariance, Apple, Tesla, SpaceX, Solyndra, Mike Cropsy
Products
Da Vinci Surgical System, Ion

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